Summer Giveaway #10: The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale (US only)

I picked up The Actor and the Housewife last year because it's by one of my favorite authors, Shannon Hale, and even though it's not her usual fare of groundbreaking YA fantasy, this adult fiction romantic comedy quickly rocketed up to its current position as one of my favorite books of all time. It's the book I go back to whenever I'm feeling lonely or...schlumpy (? is that a word? oh well, I'm making it one now). I have an extra copy of this book and so I'm totally sharing the love with you guys!

Summary:

Mormon housewife Becky Jack is seven months pregnant with her fourth child when she meets celebrity heartthrob Felix Callahan. Twelve hours, one elevator ride, and one alcohol-free dinner later, something has happened…though nothing has happened. It isn’t sexual. It isn’t even quite love. But a month later Felix shows up in Salt Lake City to visit and before they know what’s hit them, Felix and Becky are best friends. Really. Becky’s husband is pretty cool about it. Her children roll their eyes. Her neighbors gossip endlessly. But Felix and Becky have something special…something unusual, something completely impossible to sustain. Or is it? A magical story, The Actor and the Housewife explores what could happen when your not-so-secret celebrity crush walks right into real life and changes everything.

You can see my review of this book here.

To enter, fill out the form below. This giveaway is open to US only and ends Friday, August 6, 2010. Good luck!

Review: Forest Born by Shannon Hale

Books of Bayern, Book 4

Tags: middle grade, YA, fantasy, magic, nature, self-esteem

Rating: 4 out of 5


Summary

All her life, Rin has unquestioningly helped her Ma out with the many chores required of her to take care of her large family in the Forest. Rin has always found comfort within the trees, but when the trees seem to turn against her, Rin goes with her older brother, Razo, into the city, hoping to put an end to the unsettled feeling within her.

However, Rin soon finds herself in the midst of a mysterious political situation as she accompanies the “Fire Sisters”—Isi, Enna, and Dasha—to a neighboring country following the reports of strange magical occurrences. Little does Rin know that it may be up to her and her as-yet-unrealized abilities to save the day for them all…

Review

FOREST BORN is a welcome return to the beloved world of Bayern as Shannon Hale shows again why she is one of the decade’s top YA fantasy writers. Featuring ever-lush writing, wonderful characters, and heartwarming character development, be prepared to step into Bayern once again!

With her timidity and extreme lack of self-esteem, Rin is a far cry from the other Bayern characters. However, Rin is never overshadowed by the other, more talkative, and more assertive characters, mostly because we are so invested in Rin’s well-being and watch with happiness as she grows into understanding herself. Rin’s quietness—not to mention her ability—makes her a careful and meticulous observer of people, and even when previous Bayern characters like Enna seem one-dimensional to the point of being caricatures of their former selves, Rin is reliably steady in her thought process and contemplation.

The Bayern fan within me really appreciated how FOREST BORN discusses an aspect of the world that has appeared in her previous books but has not been fully addressed until now. With the believable and shivers-inducing return of an old nemesis, the Bayern books seem to return full circle, and it delights me that Rin—gentle, unassuming Rin—is the one who wraps up the mystery surrounding this very curious recurring issue. To be more specific would be to spoil the goods for you, so fans of the Bayern books should definitely read this to better understand what I’m talking about.

Perhaps the best part of Hale’s novel is, of course, the writing. It’s gorgeous without losing sight of the plot and themes; poetic without letting the language direct the story. Hale’s language makes the world of Bayern a romantically mysterious place despite the truly malevolent terrors within, and it’s a world we want to sink into for a whole day’s worth of reading.

FOREST BORN may be the highly satisfying fourth book in Hale’s Books of Bayern series, but I think I am not alone when I say that I would not be loath to more books in the series. Shannon Hale proves once again that her writing abilities make sure that previously done worlds never get stale, and that you can always write a beautiful and memorable story out of old ideas.

Similar Authors
Kristin Cashore

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5


Cover discussion: 2 out of 5 - I will, I think, always prefer the old covers of this series to the new covers, but *shrugs* what can be done? That is definitely not how I picture Rin, though the background is rather pretty.

Bloomsbury / Sept. 2009 / Hardcover / 400pp. / $17.99

Thank you, Anna, for sending me a copy for review!

Review: The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

Publication date: June 9, 2009 (Bloomsbury USA)

Tags: adult, humor, tragedy, friendship

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary

Mormon housewife of four Becky Jack cannot believe her luck when she manages to strike up an actual conversation with her celebrity crush, Felix Callahan, on a trip to L.A. It’s just the one time, and Becky marks it down as a great story to tell her friends and family later. Her normally comfortable life of running the household and loving her husband, Mike, however, seems to slide into the land of fairy tales when, a few weeks later, Felix shows up in her small Utah town.

Becky is unable to understand why this handsome man, so happily married to his beautiful French model wife, keeps on insisting on being in her life. But they strike a friendship so deep, so all-encompassing, that everyone who knows them has no idea what to make of it. Being Felix’s best friend has its ups and downs, and the biggest down for Becky is wondering about how much of an effect Felix has on her when she is completely, utterly, 100 percent devoted to her family.

Can a housewife whose life is her family have a famous actor as a best friend? Or is everything too good to be true?

Review

I have long been an admirer of Shannon Hale’s work; THE GOOSE GIRL is still one of my favorite books of all time, and Shannon’s previous adult novel, AUSTENLAND, is a charming read. But THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE is absolutely perfect. I was blown away completely. Not many books have left me both laughing so hysterically that I woke up my roommate and sobbing nonstop for a good hundred pages.

Imagine your favorite smart romantic comedy, novelized and plumped with three times as much goodness, and that’s what you get in Shannon Hale’s second adult book. Every single character in this novel is well-developed, interesting, and unique, though the witty and laugh-out-loud funny dialogue between Becky and Felix steals the show, of course. I swear Shannon must’ve been channeling some serious screenwriter vibes, because the dialogue belongs in a crowd-pleasing, box-office-record-breaking movie of the likes of “When Harry Met Sally.”

The emotions I experienced when reading THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE were astounding. Shannon Hale certainly had me collapsing in laughter at all the right moments (i.e. a lot of them). However, her brilliant writing developed the characters in a way that left me in tears for the sad bits of the book. It’s not too hard for a book to make me laugh; for a book to move me to tears, though, that is a remarkable piece of work.

This book will appeal to a wide range of audiences. Romance lovers will love the dialogue, the heartbreaks, and the hope. Becky is a Mormon and Felix is an atheist, but the novel only gently touches upon issues of religion, which allows for a greater range of appreciative readers. Smart women tiring of regular chick lit should read this, as well as teenagers who want a perfectly respectable fictional relationship to dream about—there’s no smut or anything rated higher than PG in this book, which is another smart move.

There will be mixed reactions towards the ending, for sure, but I appreciated it precisely because it broke the mold of the standard fairy-tale-like happily-ever-afters, and instead offered an alternative, though no less exciting, future for the characters.

THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE comes out at a great time—this summer, you’ll want laughter, love, and a bit of the unexplainable. This is a book that you’ll want to keep on your shelf forever, rereading it every summer to fall in love with Becky, Felix, Mike, and all the characters all over again.

Similar Authors/Movies:

Meg Cabot

When Harry Met Sally

10 Things I Hate About You

Writing: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Cover discussion: Ignore the cover! Take the dust jacket off when reading, for fear that it will cause you to ignore this book! (Ack!)

Waiting on Wednesday (14)

Another three-parter WoW post because all of a sudden I'm stumbling across so many brilliant sounding reads that I want to share them with you all!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that’s what I thought. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. 

Can we just say that if you are not immediately attracted to the stunning cover, then the mysterious synopsis should attract you? I love books where the characters or locations have mysterious histories abound with the paranormal. And there seems to be a strong love interest. Plus, people like Vania and Karin keep on raving about this book on Twitter and Goodreads, pretty much driving me mad with anticipation. And Kami and Margaret are very active on their blogs and on Twitter, which builds up the exictement even more. It sounds like it's gonna be great!

Beautiful Creatures will be released in hardcover by Little, Brown on December 1, 2009.

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

What if you were to meet the number-one person on your laminated list—you know, that list you joke about with your significant other about which five celebrities you’d be allowed to run off with if ever given the chance? And of course since it’ll never happen it doesn’t matter…

Mormon housewife Becky Jack is seven months pregnant with her fourth child when she meets celebrity hearththrob Felix Callahan. Twelve hours, one elevator ride, and one alcohol-free dinner later, something has happened…though nothing has happened. It isn’t sexual. It isn’t even quite love. But a month later Felix shows up in Salt Lake City to visit and before they know what’s hit them, Felix and Becky are best friends. Really. Becky’s husband is pretty cool about it. Her children roll their eyes. Her neighbors gossip endlessly. But Felix and Becky have something special…something unusual, something completely impossible to sustain. Or is it?

A magical story, The Actor and the Housewife explores what could happen when your not-so-secret celebrity crush walks right into real life and changes everything.

Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors and she can clearly do no wrong. I very much enjoyed her previous adult novel, Austenland, and so am looking forward to reading this one!

The Actor and the Housewife will be available from Bloomsbury on June 9, 2009.

And finally, I don't like to post WoW choices if they don't have a cover, but I really really really couldn't resist this one, because this just might be the most highly anticipated book on my list for the next few years. From Megan McCafferty's website:

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Alessandra Balzer at Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins Children’s Books acquired World English rights to New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty’s new novel in a two-book deal from Heather Schroder at ICM. Bumped is a sharply funny and provocative dystopian novel set in a world where only teens are able to have babies, and are contracted by adults to carry them to term. Megan is best known for her Jessica Darling series, which started with Sloppy Firsts and most recently ended with Perfect Fifths.

Can we say, "Holy....!"? Megan's gone dystopian lit! This is going to be awesome. I have no doubt that she'll conquer this new genre the same way she redefined chick lit/YA lit with the Jessica Darling series.

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

Forest Born by Shannon Hale

...aaaand I couldn't find a synopsis for it. :( *sigh* All I can tell you is that it's about Razo's little sister, Rin, and it's the fourth book in Shannon's Bayern series, which I love-love-loved. The Goose Girl is one of my favorite books of all time, and Enna Burning wasn't quite as good IMO, but it was still good. I have, unfortunately, yet to read River Secrets (bad Shannon Hale fan! bad!), but perhaps I will get on that during what I am going to dub Series Summer. More info to follow when, uh, you know, summer is actually nearer.

So I think the Forest Born cover is really pretty (love the purple tones throughout), but I'd have to say that I like the original Bayern series cover more, the pastel-ly older look. Which one do you guys prefer? (Perhaps I'll do a Cover Discussion post about this series' covers soon...)

Forest Born will be released in hardcover by Bloomsbury on September 15, 2009.

What are YOU waiting for today? :)